Evaluation of the Higher Education Active Community Fund (HEACF) Project in Bournemouth 2005/06

This report evaluates the fourth year of the Higher Education Active Community Fund (HEACF) project’s implementation. This was a collaborative scheme across Bournemouth University led by the Students’ Union in partnership with the professional service department Partnerships, Access and Community Engagement (PACE). The project was funded by Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) in order to develop volunteering activities for students and staff. This report is a continuation of the report that was published in November 2005

Can Culture and Inter-Organisational Change Attain Sustainable Development? Egalitarian Collaboration at Bournemouth University

Sustainable development as part of the global perspectives’ agenda has proved to be very popular within a range of topics that have been debating the future of the globe in the last decade.In this light, this paper sets the scene on how sustainable development can be achieved within the education, and in particular the Higher Education context in order to produce ‘responsible global citizens’. In doing so, two explanatory theoretical frameworks are utilised, one of cultural theory and one of inter-organisational change. Based on those frameworks, a model for explaining sustainable development is suggested

Should they Stay or Should they Go: Urban Partnerships as Formations of Organisational Innovation for Public Service Delivery

Urban partnerships have emerged (as well as advertised) as a weighty vehicle for policy delivery in Britain in recent years. Despite the continuous ambiguity on what defines a partnership they have been perceived as schemes that can bring a new ‘dynamism’ to old problems and have often been effective in forging new links between existing participating sides.Hence, the principal aim of this paper that is to contribute to this area of public policy. In so doing, the paper examines partnership organisational attributes that promote collaboration and networking between participating members via the pursuit of well-being for the parties involved and their local community. The paper draws on empirical research of particular urban partnerships as they have been formulated in Bournemouth, South West of England

Evaluating Collaborative Strategy for Local Partnerships in Urban Regeneration in England

The main argument in this paper is that collaboration as a means of involving different agencies into a common purpose can be the main ‘ingredient’ for the formation of a framework of a strategy, the so-called ‘collaborative strategy’. The utility of such a framework is given through the action of Citywide and Local Strategic Partnerships, which are the recent formations of partnership arrangements within the local government context. In particular, the applicability of the framework is examined in the context of urban regeneration based on policy initiatives that have been introduced over the last years. The paper also introduces a type of evaluation of collaborative strategy that is based upon specific aspects of partnership action. Despite its lack of empirical evidence it could be argued that the paper sets the scene for a framework that would be the base for partnership functioning. In this respect the testing of its applicability becomes apparent either in relation to potential fruitful policy outcomes or from the point of view that recognises significant dysfunctional elements at the operational and implementation level

Does Policy Network Analysis provide an adequate understanding of state-group inter-mediation at the local level?

This paper attempts to identify if Network Policy Analysis provides an adequate understanding of state-group inter-mediation at local level. In order to do that the paper refers to recent developments of Policy Network Analysis in UK local government towards a network model of policy making. Beginning with the recent enlargements in Policy Network Analysis it argues that Marsh and Rhodes’s (1992) and Marsh and Smith’s (1996, 1998) Dialectical Approach provide the most convincing response to the topic. Based on this it demonstrates the implications of these theories into British local politics with respect to a developing network model. It tests finally the theoretical considerations empirically using the case of Birmingham City Council regarding housing policy

Can Partnerships offer an Alternative Mode of Governance within the Contemporary Local Political Domain? An Initial Approach

This paper attempts to identify if partnerships between public, private and voluntary/community organisations provide an adequate mode of governance in today's local political domain. In order to do this the paper refers to the notion of governance and its current meanings as well as to different modes of governance applied to local politics. It argues that the 'Network and Policy Communities' mode is the one that matches most accurately the nature and functioning of partnerships. Based on this, it then empirically examines the existence of partnerships as governance modes in the cases of two partnership schemes (one in the UK, one in Sweden) and the implications of cultural and other differences reflected in the formation of partnerships. Following the theoretical and empirical evidence the paper argues that current policy-making procedures implemented within local orientated partnerships can be considered as features of an alternative governance mode. It recognises however existence of significant dysfunctional elements

Collaboration for Social Innovation: Developing Social Learning Spaces in the UK Higher Education

This paper concerns initial work on social innovation that investigates the role of collaboration as a catalyst for change applied in the context of social learning spaces in the United Kingdom‟ higher education. From a policy viewpoint the paper addresses the issue of social technologies as a means of social practice. Secondly, it focuses on the impact a whole system change process can have upon university students and staff in establishing social learning spaces. Thirdly, it tackles leadership and how this can be effectively utilised within the field under consideration. Reference to specific cases of British Universities regarding use of social learning spaces is made and emphasis is given on the role of collaboration in pursuing innovative ideas. Semi-structured interviews and collection of secondary data are the research methods used. Finally, suggestions on how social learning spaces could be further improved are highlighted

An analysis of monetary voluntary contributions for cultural resources: the case of the British Museum

The study considers the factors affecting the levels of individual voluntary contributions for cultural tourist not-for-profit resources. The paper takes the British Museum (BM), London, as an example. The BM is the leading free-entry cultural tourist attraction in London. However, funding for the BM has decreased by over 30% in the past 10 years. The results illustrate the effect of formal and informal ‘communities of participation’ that generate obligations for voluntary contributions towards arts and cultural resources. The BM, the authors argue, should try to invest in cultural network enhancing infrastructure that could potentially encourage visitors to contribute voluntarily. It should also influence trust levels among potential donors by becoming more accountable. The authors argue that these policy initiatives could lower the transaction costs of pro-social behaviour. </jats:p